Gario Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) ReMixer name: SupahForte Real name: Christian M. Swanson Email address: Userid: 34515 Name of game arranged: Mega Man Zero 2 Name of arrangement: Cerebral Glacier Name of individual song arranged: Ice Brain (Poler Kamrous) The Main reason I did this song was due to the fact that even the remastered tracks had fake guitar on it. This track is definitely one of my all time favorite tracks but I felt the remastered tracks didn't do it justice. Upon recording it I decided to not follow the track entirely. i composed mostly my own drums.The bass and guitar was recorded throgh my amp through my interface using SM57s. The programs used were "Reason" For the guitar and bass and Guitar Pro 6 to Compose the drums This would be a Rock version of this track. Edited May 31, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision timaeus222 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Mega Man Zero is a criminally underrated series, with music that matches the best of the Megaman series. It kind of makes me wonder why there isn't more awesome arrangements of it... perhaps people just didn't get too far in the games of the series? They were pretty tough, after all... As far as the arrangement goes, it's pretty cool. Making the track into something of a rock arrangement fits well with the source, and the synths used in this compliment the rock elements of this track well. The rhythm guitar and drum work is pretty solid, as far as performance is concerned, so nice work on that. The lead, while serviceable, doesn't sound like a clean performance. The timing is often sloppy (like the grace notes at 1:28 & 1:35), and the notes sound like they have an unintentional degree of separation between the notes when the notes get really high. Tighten up those entrances and rhythms, and connect your notes better in the higher end. One last element is the doubling involved later in the track at 2:06 sounds strange - the lower guitar that doubles it hits on a slight delay. It sounds like the intent was to create an echo, but it instead sounds like it's just missing a beat since it's an octave lower. Line your doubling up better. The mixing of this is a larger overall concern for this arrangement - the lead pierces, and the middle elements (rhythm guitar, bass, synth) sound like soup behind it. Overall, the varying elements need to be balanced better - hold back the lead a bit, separate the middle elements so they're more distinct and bring out the kick and snare of the drums better. I think this has some solid potential, but the lead performance and mixing hold back. I hope to hear some improvements on it, because the arrangement is slick, and the transformation to rock is awesome. NO timaeus222 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Gario hits a number of excellent criticisms, and I'll add a few more of my own. The overall soundscape feels quite empty, mainly due to the lack of bass. The bass guitar is extremely quiet and used sparingly, to the point I didn't even notice there was one for quite some time, and the same is true for the kick drum. The melodic treatment is very conservative, mostly just rehashing the source. There are a few original moments, mainly the intro and conclusion, but not many. Since the accompaniment is indistinct, there's little to make this a unique, distinct arrangement And again, because the accompaniment doesn't stand out, the bulk of the arrangement sounds very same-y. The whole range from 0:28-2:45 is very similar sonically, and would benefit from some variety to keep the listener interested. Bringing up the accompaniment may be enough to fix that, but you can consider adding breakdowns, solos, etc. to break things up a little. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 The mixing wasn't clear, with the backing guitars until :14-:28 just adding clutter, IMO; Not sure why the panning was so wide with that stuff either; it's disorienting on headphones. Better stuff at :28 with the source tune more straight up, though the basic, metronome-ish backing drumwork quickly got repetitive. The timing/multitracking of the chorus from 1:09-1:37 was noticeably loose; an acquired taste maybe, and worth pointing out, though not something I'd necessarily ding the track on if the interpretation was solid. The adaptation to rock is decent, but it's too straightforward of a cover. You'll need to get more interpretive with the source material or more expansive with the part-writing to add your own observable touches; don't wait until 2:34 to throw in something that shows off more of your personality in the performance (and helps your rendition stand on its own). The drumwork also needs to be more varied and fleshed out; the writing for it was too simple and repetitive. There's nothing bad here, Christian, but this needs more development and interpretation of the source theme. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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